Am I Missing Something?

A Brilliant Conflict

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

I normally don't write reviews, but after seeing so many negative reviews I just had to. I just finished watching the film and believe many people had a hard time seeing Adrien Brody in a role portrayed as such and rated it negatively. I'll admit initially I thought he was wrong for the role, however, after giving him a chance I enjoyed his acting skills. This was more of a drama than action (although there was action at the end), but I still loved the film. I hope Adrien Brody explores more roles that are out of his comfort zone in the future!! He's been in the game for over 30 years, so c'mon give him a break and allow him to explore different characters while showing him support!

This is one of those movies , and I'll name a handful where it seems like really real. PORT of New Orleans Bad Detective, Scanner Darkly, Less Than Zero....and there are more. But to me, this movie doesn't have any acting. Adrian Brody doesn't know any better than to be bullied by our Black cast.Hayden is his younger brother working as a lube tech and suddenly gets intimate with a new girlfriend that needed him to take a look at her vehicle..who too happens to work at the Police Dept. as a dispatch operator. No problems.Just a sad epidemic of crime,sex,blackmail...and I'm only half way into it... This film could inspire a narration for every episode of INTERVENTION on television. And again, it seems that the white guy is the pawn to the extraordinarily stronger and smarter black guy, who for some reason doesn't get killed arrested or a restraining order against them makes the movie delve as far as it has already.

At least I had Star Wars ... or The Pianist. Depending which actor might have thoughts about his career, the answers are there. Hayden hit the Jackpot (I hope for him) with the Star Wars franchise and Adrien Brody had his critical success with Polanski. The latter seems to be doing a neat movie from time to time, though he also seems to be doing some very bad ones too.This isn't a really bad one, though you wonder about the characters and how Mr. Brody came to play a character like this. I guess it had to do with the family business in the script and a scene where he can "shine" if you want to call it that. It's really rather annoying not to mention predictable.

This film actually falls into more the Midnight Cowboy or Taxi Driver genre rather than the typical heist film. It's not slick, sexy gadgety or with any super villain or super cop. That's probably what most people look for: a fast-paced sexy thrill of a heist. But it is again, more comparable to Midnight Cowboy or Taxi Driver, not quite in that class but you get the message. It's about the odd people getting the short stick in life. They may fail because they simply may not grasp what it takes to succeed in this world nor are given any advantages in life. Adrien Brody and Hayden Christiansen play the destitute down-on-luck brothers. Hayden plays James, the more balanced one who tries to lead a normal life. Older brother Frankie is more like the good-for-nothing lowlife career criminal. Quite similar to Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman's (Ratso) characters in Cowboy except Frankie and James served time. In Cowboy, Ratso was the con man bringing Joe Buck for the ride. In the same respect, Frankie takes James for a ride. How ungrounded and unsuccessful Frankie is signified by stealing a yellow lemon of a car. It breaks down. It's almost comical. Frankie raves that no one will notice the yellow car is stolen. But in reality, the audience knows, it is far too conspicuous. Frankie might as well wear prison orange. So the viewer can take note unfortunately such rides don't have basis in reality but only lead to dead ends.American Heist doesn't come close to those masterpieces but it tries. Unfortunately many viewers may miss the point. James tries to lead a normal life, seeks a bank loan and starts a relationship with Emily played by Jordana Brewster. Acting is superb by Brody who doesn't get a nod for a superb performance. Jordana Brewster comes close and Hayden Christiansen (should we take him seriously as an actor?) actually is creditable in his straight role.Problems? For one, the long slow pre-death scene that almost goes nowhere and the Akon soundtrack. It tries to be almost an art-house type heist but also falls a bit short of most people's expectations. But view it for the what it really is: a movie about down-and-outs. Real rating: 7.2-7.5, could be the best crime movie of the year but who notices? I bump it up due to low ratings which this film doesn't deserve. Plenty of good films get missed the first time. It might be a decade before anyone notices.